1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a composite component including a support portion and a reinforcement composite layer and a method of forming the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A composite component is formed of at least two diverse materials that are combined together to form a single unit. Composite components are used in a variety of settings including seat backs for a vehicle and structural beams. Seat backs for vehicles are assembled in a seat assembly and the seat assembly is disposed in the vehicle, such as an automobile, for supporting occupants of the vehicle.
Seat backs must meet structural requirements by having sufficient stiffness to support repeated loads commonly exerted on the seat back such as loads exerted by passengers. Seat backs must also have sufficient impact strength to withstand cracking or breaking during impacts such as impacts created by cargo moving in the vehicle and occupant loads during crash events. For example, cargo may move in the vehicle if the cargo is not secured and the vehicle is involved in an accident.
As such, the seat back is generally formed from metal such as steel. Steel meets the structural requirements by providing sufficient stiffness and sufficient impact strength to satisfy the above mentioned concerns. However, the steel seat back is comprised of several individual components and the assembly of these components makes such a construction relatively expensive. Additionally, steel is a relatively heavy material. Generally in vehicles, heavy material such as steel is avoided, where possible, in favor of lighter materials. With respect to the seat back, replacing heavy material with lighter material increases fuel economy of the vehicle. In addition, lighter material is more easily handled in the assembly process of the seat back and the assembly process of the vehicle.
It is known in the art to form the seat back from a relatively light material such as plastic. Plastic is beneficial in such an application not only because plastic is lighter than steel, but also because seat back features may be integrated into the frame portion made of plastic. Such seat back features include headrest guides that are integrally formed on the frame portion during an injection molding process. Also, plastic has the benefit of being able to produce a seat back in a single injection molded process.
However, the use of plastic in such applications is limited due to the relatively low stiffness and low impact strength of plastic in comparison to steel. Seat backs made of plastic must be thicker than those made of steel to achieve sufficient stiffness and impact strength. As a result, seat backs made from plastic may be too thick to accommodate packaging constraints in vehicles.
It is known in the art to form seat backs from composite materials to increase the stiffness and impact strength of the seat back. An example of such a seat back includes a plastic support portion and a metal reinforcing portion attached to the support portion for reinforcing the support portion. Adequate interaction between the plastic of the support portion and the metal of the reinforcement portion is difficult to obtain. In addition, further weight reduction could be obtained by replacing the metal reinforcement portion with a lighter material. Further, such a seat back is not easily recyclable because the seat back is formed of both plastic and metal.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to manufacture a composite component such as a seat back having the relatively light weight and the capability of integration of features as provided by the plastic while also having sufficient stiffness and impact strength without significantly increasing the thickness of the seat back. It would also be desirable to manufacture a composite component which is easily recyclable. Further, it would also be desirable to establish a method of increasing the stiffness and the impact strength of the composite component while also improving the interaction between the materials of the composite component.